Superman: Legacy Fan Art Shows Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor Instead of the Man of Steel

DC Studios is getting ready to enact their master plan as they have begun developing the slate that they announced at the beginning of the year. Some of the projects on the slate include Creature Commandos, The Brave and the Bold, and even Superman: Legacy. James Gunn is set to helm the latter, and the film is already in pre-production, with the studio already casting their new Superman and Lois Lane. David Corenswet is set to play the Man of Steel, but there was another familiar name in contention for the role: Nicholas Hoult (Reinfeld). Hoult was rumored to be in contention for Superman: Legacy’s titular role and ultimately lost out on playing the next iteration of the world’s first superhero, but he was also rumored to be in contention to play Superman’s arch nemesis, Lex Luthor. One artist thinks that Hoult should definitely have his chance to play Lex Luthor and even created a cool concept showing how the actor could look. An artist on Instagram who goes by the handle @Clements. Ink created a new piece of fan art that shows exactly how Hoult could look as Lex Luthor. In the fan art, Hoult gets the character’s classic bald head and is equipped with his mech suit from the comics to take on Superman.

You can check out the fan art below.

Nicholas Hoult Previously Lost Batman Role to Robert Pattinson 

Hoult was previously in contention to play Bruce Wayne / Batman in Matt Reeves The Batman universe until he lost out on the role to Robert Pattinson. Warner Bros. was pretty keen on Hoult donning the cape and cowl, but Reeves really want to see Pattinson as his version of the Dark Knight. Hoult previously spoke on losing the role but also praised Pattinson’s performance as the iconic DC character.

“Of course,” Hoult previously revealed in an interview when he was asked if he actually wanted to appear in The Batman. “I’m sure if you ask most people, they’ll tell you they’d want to portray that role. I think Matt Reeves’ ideas were fantastic and he made a brilliant movie. And I also think that Rob [Pattinson] did an amazing job with the character, and I loved seeing him in it. So I don’t think I would have done as good a job as him, ultimately. I don’t think I could have fit as well into the world that Matt created as Rob did.”

“When they tell you for the first time that it’s not you, it’s painful, but then you have to accept it as normality,” Hoult went on. “I think that’s probably a strength of mine as an actor as well. I can accept that they didn’t cast me pretty well and when I see the chosen actor doing a great job, and I enjoy it, and it’s good, I’m like, ‘oh yeah, they made the right choice. They knew what they were doing.’ So it’s not like I’m sitting there like, ‘Oh, I’m not going to watch it now.’ It’s a good movie and Rob is brilliant in it.”

What is Superman: Legacy About?

DC Studios previously dropped their first official synopsis for Superman: Legacy when it was revealed that Gunn was indeed helming the project, “Superman: Legacy tells the story of Superman’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned.”

Superman: Legacy will star David Corenswet as the Man of Steel and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. Gunn is helming the film from a script written by himself. Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for more updates on the Superman: Legacy cast sad we learn it.

Superman: Legacy will hit theaters on July 11, 2025

What do you think about Nicholas Hoult playing Lex Luthor instead of Superman? Are you excited to see James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @NateBrail up on Twitter!